Thanks For Asking! -- 10/01/26

Happy October! It's the monthly AMA thread -- ask me anything in the comment thread below and I'll answer in, or linked from, the comments (if you're a real reader, that is -- if you're a troll, your question has to be interesting or it will just get deleted).

Wordle 1930 Hint

 Hint: Swanky/posh. Or, alternatively, like a popular snack cracker.

Not Enough? Get the first letter of today's Wordle below.

New to Wordle? You can play it at the New York Times, and here are some thoughts on how I go about solving each day's puzzle.

First Letter: R

NFL Week 4 Picks

Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season kicks off tomorrow night with the Pittsburgh Steelers, I predict, savaging the Cleveland Browns on Amazon Prime Video. Here are my picks -- feel free to join my "leaderboard" at ESPN's "Pick'em" game if you'd like to compare football prediction prowess.

• Pittsburgh Steelers beat Cleveland Browns
• Washington Commanders beat Indianapolis Colts*
• Buffalo Bills beat New England Patriots
• Chicago Bears beat New York Jets
• Jacksonville Jaguars beat Cincinnati Bengals*
• New York Giants beat Arizona Cardinals
• Philadelphia Eagles beat Los Angeles Rams*
• Green Bay Packers beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Baltimore Ravens beat Tennessee Titans
• Houston Texans beat Dallas Cowboys*
• Minnesota Vikings beat Miami Dolphins
• Kansas City Chiefs beat Las Vegas Raiders
• San Francisco 49ers beat Denver Broncos
• Seattle Seahawks beat Los Angeles Chargers
• Detroit Lions beat Carolina Panthers
• New Orleans Saints beat Atlanta Falcons

"Upset" predictions -- predictions on which I disagree with the majority of ESPN Pick'em players -- are marked with asterisks. Any changes I make to my picks will be done prior to kickoff and noted below as well.